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Read the PaperWhy We Studied Standards Institute
Districts nationwide grapple with a persistent challenge: how to improve outcomes for all student populations without lowering expectations or compromising academic rigor. Disrupting predictable patterns of student achievement demands a fundamental shift in educators’ mindsets and instructional practices. UnboundEd’s systemic approach aligns all essential facets of education, from the classroom to the central office, which enables change across the system, bringing grade-level, engaging, affirming, and meaningful — GLEAM® — instruction to life for every student in every classroom. With High-Quality Instructional Materials (HQIM) as a foundation, educators’ work enacting the GLEAM framework is spearheaded by Standards Institute™ (SI), our immersive four-day experience that empowers educators with the skills and tools to deliver GLEAM Instruction. Standards Institute cultivates a critical mindset shift, moving beyond traditional thinking to disrupt deficit mindsets and foster higher expectations for all students.
While Standards Institute is designed to be an immersive, high-impact professional learning experience, our commitment to enduring change requires us to rigorously measure its results and update our content accordingly in a continuous improvement framework. As such, the Research and Evaluation team at UnboundEd conducted a study measuring the cumulative effects of the SIs held in 2025. Specifically, using a pre-survey, a post-survey, and a follow-up survey, we measured the achievement of our intended outcomes (shifts in mindsets and practices) for Standards Institute using both quantitative and qualitative data.
2025 Results at a Glance
Cumulative Net Promoter Score (NPS) for the 2025 Standards Institutes
of participants provided to facilitators for their knowledge, professionalism, and ability to foster a safe and collaborative learning environment
of participants reported gaining new knowledge
of participants agreed the content was relevant to their professional roles
What Changed?
Overall findings demonstrate exceptionally strong participant satisfaction and a high intent to apply new learning immediately. Attendees consistently cited Standards Institute as one of the most effective professional development experiences they have participated in, with the 2025 SIs achieving a cumulative Net Promoter Score of 74. Comparing the data collected at the beginning of Standards Institute to the end, we found mostly positive changes in mindsets. Specifically, we saw positive, significant changes over the course of Standards Institute, with statistically significant changes in domains of asset-based thinking and context-specific teaching mindsets persisting several months after the professional learning as well.
What Participants Described
Our qualitative findings strengthened our quantitative results. Participant responses highlighted a critical shift from deficit to asset-based approaches, centered on elevating expectations and recognizing the variety of skills, knowledge, and competencies gathered from students’ community history and everyday lives. Attendees also demonstrated recognizing systemic barriers, ensuring equitable access, and affirming unique identities. Finally, participant responses confirmed a shift away from generic content toward culturally and experientially relevant materials, grounding learning in students’ immediate worlds.
Standards Institute deepened my understanding of how educator beliefs directly influence student outcomes. One powerful takeaway was recognizing how low expectations — often rooted in unconscious bias — can limit student access to grade-level content. The institute emphasized that all students, regardless of background, are capable of engaging in meaningful, challenging work when given the right support.
From Learning to Practice
Our follow-up survey showed that nearly 80% of respondents believed they had successfully implemented their plans or new strategies from SI. Specifically, respondents communicated a collective shift in instructional focus toward actively ensuring that all students had access to and could succeed with rigorous, on-grade-level content. They also reported implementing new practices to create more engaging classrooms, leading to both higher student participation and greater academic agency. Finally, participants shared the actions they were taking to make content meaningful, a key component of the GLEAM framework, with a dual focus on connecting learning to students’ lives and promoting deeper analysis.
Systemic Support for GLEAM Instruction
We also examined leaders’ responses to explore systemic shifts that could be attributed to Standards Institute attendance. Leaders who attended Standards Institute shared that they were adapting their professional development and coaching areas to include the GLEAM principles for professional learning, school goals, and instructional reform. They had also updated their observation and feedback cycles to better align learning walks to the GLEAM framework, offering routine observations and feedback focused on evidence of student engagement and rigorous instruction.
What the Research Shows
In conclusion, the findings from the 2025 Standards Institute (SI) provide compelling evidence that UnboundEd is associated with successfully influencing the critical mindsets and practices necessary to eliminate the predictability of student outcomes.
As one educator powerfully noted, the implementation of this work is not just an instructional shift, but a systemic one: “… If this level of teaching/learning is truly valued and implemented across the district, the shift in student learning, engagement, and achievement will be transformative for our students’ futures. They will be prepared on a global level, and it would translate into a dynamic shift for our city from redlining and poverty to prosperity and opportunity.”